


like the sensation of pouring hot glue down your throat

by LONEMOON



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Drug Withdrawal, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:20:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22117015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LONEMOON/pseuds/LONEMOON
Summary: "Reaching out to you again was... kind of a 'bucket list' thing."Felix reunites with his childhood best friend, Sylvain, who had abruptly moved away when they were teens. However, he can't shake the feeling that something awful was happening to his friend.So, Felix drags Sylvain onto the road to recovery.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50





	like the sensation of pouring hot glue down your throat

If there was one good thing to be said about Sylvain, it's that he was never too hard to get ahold of. He was always glued to his cellphone, having it always at least tucked away in his pocket, if not currently in his hand. Sometimes, yes, he'd take his sweet time replying to a text, but even still, he would at least respond within the hour. He was good like that.

Which made it all the more concerning that today, he wasn't responding. He and Felix had made plans that day, just casually going to get coffee, since they hadn't hung out in a while. Felix was sat at the table, alone, as he had been for the past half-hour. His first texts to Sylvain were irritated, as usual, but as the time passed he couldn't help but feel his tone changing.

 **Felix @10:04 AM:** where are you

 **Felix @10:06 AM:** if youre late because youre hitting on some girl, im going to kick your ass

 **Felix@10:11 AM:** im not going to wait for you to order

 **Felix@10:15 AM:** sylvain

 **Felix@10:25 AM:** where the hell are you

 **Felix@10:26 AM:** if youre going to be late just tell me. dumbass

 **Felix@10:30 AM:** sylvain???

 **Felix@10:32 AM:** god dammit

 **Felix@10:32 AM:** im coming over. have pants on.

He stuffed his phone in his pocket, gritting his teeth. Despite his best efforts, Felix couldn't help but feel a pang of unease in his gut. He tried to tell himself that it was just Sylvain being the unreliable person he is and that not replying to a text for a half-hour, even during the day, wasn't weird. However, he couldn't convince himself of that. It wasn't weird for most people, sure, but it was weird for Sylvain.

Felix drank the last of his coffee, tossing it into the trash before shoving his way out of the door. He shuddered as the cold air stung against his face, his breath billowing in front of his nose in white clouds. If he was about to walk all the way to Sylvain's apartment in this weather, and it turned out he was fine, Felix was going to kill him. He pulled his coat tighter around himself and pushed on, walking stiffly down the street.

He'd known Sylvain for years by this point, likely over a decade. They'd been neighbors as kids, despite going to different schools, and spent nearly every day together with the other neighborhood kids. Sure, they had grown apart for a time as they grew older, but Sylvain had recently reached out again to reconnect. For the past month, they'd been talking and hanging out on and off, whenever they'd had time between classes. It had turned out, lucky enough, that their universities were extremely close together--close enough even to walk between them. While Felix would sooner drop dead than admit it, he was happy to see his old friend again.

Though, something had changed about Sylvain. Besides the obvious of him simply getting older, that is. As a teen, Sylvain was carefree, always smiling, and had a heart of gold under his big, dumb exterior. He was ambitious, too. He had big dreams about taking over his family's company with his older brother and studied hard despite how lazy he seemed on the surface. Felix had admired him, once upon a time. 

The first time they'd met face-to-face since they were fifteen was a few months ago, when the weather was warmer. They'd met for lunch--some greasy pizza that Felix would never admit he actually liked--and caught up on the years they had lost. At first, Felix couldn't believe how _little_ Sylvain had changed. He had the same easy grin, the same carefree attitude, all of it. However, through spending time with him again, Felix started to notice some things. His smiles were empty. The lazy-seeming front he'd once put up seemed to have given way to a genuine aimlessness in life. His eyes, though, were the most striking. Felix hardly believed he didn't notice it earlier when it finally saw it. His eyes were dull and dark circles had taken up a regular residence beneath them.

Felix, initially, was annoyed by this revelation. The last thing he wanted was for his old friend to be wallowing in some kind of self-pity and giving up on life. Though his disgust eventually gave way to a genuine concern. Sylvain was making such an effort to remain Felix's friend, even when the latter prickled and pushed him away. Irritating as it was, Felix found himself caring for the other man once again, as if they'd never been apart. With that care came the concern. He found himself texting first more often than he once did, just to make sure Sylvain would respond. He had no idea what had changed in his friend, nor did he have any idea how to breach the subject, but he could at least put in some effort into the friendship to show Sylvain he was wanted.

He'd never actually been inside Sylvain's apartment before, but he'd been as far as the door, so he at least knew the way there. It was in a decent little community of apartment buildings, though Felix had never quite stopped to think why a man from such a wealthy family would be living somewhere so... lacking. _Maybe he was a minimalist._ Felix approached the building, counting the doors under his breath until he stopped at the one that must be Sylvain's. He let out a breath, checking his phone one last time to make sure he hadn't replied to the text during the walk here.

No reply.

He waited for a beat, then two. Then, he stepped up to the door and knocked. "Sylvain, open up. It's me." He only heard silence behind the door. "Come on. Open the door." Felix bit his lip, trying to stifle his own concern. _It's fine_ , he thought to himself nervously, _he's probably just still in bed._ _Maybe he's not even home._ Curious, though not expecting results, Felix tried the doorknob. He froze stiff when the handle turned and the door opened. _Why the fuck is his door unlocked?_

He bit back the instinct to call out Sylvain's name again, concerned that maybe there was some kind of break-in. Felix was strong and definitely capable of defending himself, but he wasn't about to alert anyone to his presence if he could avoid it. He inched inside, grateful that the door didn't creak as he pushed it open. A cold pit dropped in his stomach when he saw the state of the apartment. It was a _mess._ There was trash strewn about and furniture had been overturned. Felix had to step around the debris as he entered. _Someone tore the damn place apart...!_

A sound caused him to halt. It sounded like... labored breathing. He picked his way through what must have been the living room towards the sound, which was coming from behind a closed door. A bedroom, assumedly. Felix felt ill. _Someone's hurt in there._ Steeling himself, he gently turned the knob and opened the door, prepared for the worst. He prepares for blood and the aftermath of violence. He prepares for the signs of a break-in turned assault.

But he's not prepared for what he actually sees. The room is a wreck, just like the rest of the apartment, with trash strewn about. There's a single bed with all of the blankets and sheets balled into a lump. However, what's most striking is who's sitting on the bed, and the state he's in.

Sylvain isn't injured, as far as Felix can tell. However, he still manages to look _awful._ His red hair is even messier than usual, and the dark circles under his eyes are as deep as valleys. He has a frayed blanket wrapped around himself as he shakes, staring wide-eyed at the man who just entered. Felix feels like a deer caught in the lights of a semi-truck. _What... the hell...?_

Sylvain looks away after there's a dull flash of recognition on his features. "...o-oh man... you're... not supposed to be here right... right now, Fe."

The spell breaks, and Felix rushes forward. "Dammit, what the hell-?! Sylvain, what happened?"

He winces and instinctively pulls away, causing a pang of guilt in Felix's stomach. "Right... we had plans today, h-huh? What... awful timing." He laughed, but it was joyless and breathy. "I'm just... kind... kind of sick right now. It's fine."

"No, no, this is not _kind of sick_ , Christ--what happened?" He presses the question again.

Sylvain bit his lip. "You..." He paused to shudder. "You weren't supposed to know. Nobody was."

"Know _what?_ _"_

Sylvain dodged answering the question directly, screwing his eyes shut as another wave of shivers wracked his body. "...a lot's changed since we were kids, Fe."

Felix grit his teeth. _"Clearly."_

"A-Although," Sylvain started, nearly cutting Felix off, "I guess a whole lot didn't change? T-Things just got worse at home, man." He spoke as if the words were spilling out without his permission. "Miklan was cut out of the inheritance, and it--it broke him, everything just..."

As Sylvain rambled, Felix was looking around. He felt cold to his very bones when he saw discarded needles amongst the trash. "...fuck, Sylvain, what the--"

"It's f-fine, it's fine, I'm just--" He clutched his head. "I ran out. I'll get more. I-I've been using it responsibly."

"No, no, how do you use _fucking heroin_ responsibly!?" Concern boiled over into anger, and Sylvain cowered away. Felix wanted to pull back, to reel in his frustrations, but he struggled. "Is that why you moved away? Why didn't you tell any of us? We were-- _I_ was your friend!" Sylvain let out a strangled choking sound, and Felix forced his anger to subside. "...how long? How long have you been doing this to yourself?"

"...two years."

Felix was partially amazed that Sylvain hadn't killed himself with it yet. "And how long have you been off it?"

"...two days."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, once again forcing his temper down. "Well, you're _not_ getting more. Sylvain, this shit's going to kill you." He looked over to see that Sylvain was avoiding his gaze, and his stomach flipped. "...no. No. That's not..."

His voice was hoarse. "R-Reaching out to you again was... kind of a 'bucket list' thing."

Something inside Felix's chest ached. One of his most precious childhood friends, and someone he'd grown to care for again... was about to throw his life away. Again and again, people he cared about would _throw their lives away._ He grit his teeth and stared Sylvain down. "...you're not going to die. I'm not going to let you."

Sylvain bristled. "A-Alright, and what do you care? We've been talking again for what, a month? D-Don't... act like you know me." The words were sharp, but Felix could tell the venom behind them was just a show. After all, who makes reuniting with an old friend a 'bucket list' item and then insists their relationship was never important?

"It doesn't matter what I think. Get up. Get dressed. You're staying on my couch until the withdrawal wears off." Felix wasn't sure of the words coming out of his mouth. Was he just going to let a recovering addict live on his couch? Withdrawal could make someone violent or destructive, not to mention he was woefully underqualified to help someone through this. Maybe it would've been best for Sylvain to stay here, and Felix would visit him daily to make sure he was recovering.

Then, the image passed through his mind of Sylvain going back to old habits the second Felix turned his back. So, that wasn't an option. 

Sylvain looked at him as if Felix had just grown three heads. "...what?"

"You heard me," he replied, voice firm. "Get up. Get dressed. I'll call an Uber and just tell them you're drunk."

Sylvain looked away. "You can't make me do _shit._ "

"Oh, I absolutely _can_ , you half-wit. But I'm gonna spare your pride and let you do it on your own."

He opened his mouth as if to argue again, but closed it after a moment. "...I was fine, you know. It's just withdrawal... I'm not an idiot, Fe. I'll be fine the second the dealer--"

"The dealer can eat my ass," Felix snapped. "You weren't fine. I noticed pretty quickly something had changed for the worse about you. Get. Up."

Sylvain had finally run out of protests, leaving him with no choice but to obey. Felix at least had the manners to avert his eyes as Sylvain struggled to put on _slightly_ cleaner clothes. Once he was ready, and Felix had phoned for a ride, they were off.


End file.
